Chapter 23

"Oh fuck..." I bury my face in my hands, my heart overflowing with shame. I can smell Helen's juices on my fingers, my muzzle is soaked in the odiferous cream. What have I done...? How could I...?

"Irony! I can't believe I'm finding you here. Like this! What are you doing?!" Moon Shadow's voice is filled with reproof.

"I-I-I... I don't know!" I burst into tears. There's no way she can overlook this! I can't believe I was cheating on her! What kind of pony am I?! I was never like this before...

"Irony... I just don't know what to say," I can't exactly place the tone in Shadow's voice. It's almost like she's trying to suppress an emotion...

Is she laughing? No way, that can't be! I pull my hands away from my face to look at Shadow. To my utter shock, I can see that she's fighting to keep a smirk off her face.

"Shadow... what's going on?" I ask her. A wide grin blooms on her muzzle in response to the look on my face.

Behind me, Helen bursts out laughing, with Shadow joining in immediately. My eyes dart between the two in utter confusion. "Okay... I'm missing something, and you two are both obviously in on it. From your shared laughter, I'm guessing that you're not actually mad, are you?" I pointedly ask shadow.

"Well, Helen, I think we've been found out."

"Apparently," the human replies, a mischievous smile playing at her lips.

I turn my full attention on Moon Shadow, and ask, "So, are you going to fill me in?"

The answer comes, not from the mare in front of me, but the woman behind me, "Let's just say that you and Dust are the victims of meddling wives."

Turning to her, I cock a confused brow at her, "Huh?"

Moon Shadow continues, "Helen and I have decided that you and Dust belong together, so we're making sure that happens."

"But, why?"

Helen's turn, "Well, it wouldn't be so necessary, if you two weren't so damn dense! After discussing how you and Dust were behaving around each other, we quickly realized that you two would blow this without some direct interference from us."

Now I'm getting angry, "And you two think you have the right to just make these decisions for us? You think that you have the right the handle us?!"

"When it comes to you fucking up your happiness, as well as ours? You're damn right we do!" Moon Shadow stomps a hoof to emphasize her point.

"Do you really think I'd do that?" I ask her flatly.

"Irony, you were ready to do just that! If we hadn't arranged for Dust to be with us, you were ready to do your best to bury your feelings for her down deep. You wouldn't have ever learned that you can love more than one pony at the same time. You now know that you love her just as much as you love me! Are you saying you'd rather not have that? Would you rather not have her in your life?!" Moon states passionately.

My ears fall to the side of my head, my head droops, "No... I love Lightning Dust. I want her in our lives, too."

"Good. Having Dust in your life means having Helen and their children in it, too. Something which I, for one, am actually glad about. Helen and I have hit it off famously."

I turn to Helen, she nods enthusiastically, "I, too, want you both in our lives. Just since yesterday, I've seen a change in Dust. A positive change. You've made her happier than she's been since before the change."

"That doesn't make you jealous?" I ask.

She shakes her head, "On the contrary, it makes me feel relieved. I can sense how good for her you are. The love that you two share, like Moon told you, doesn't displace the love that she and I share, it enhances it. Together, we will all accomplish much."

"Indeed," Shadow intones.

"Though, unfortunately, I'm going to have to leave you, and Dust, in Moon's capable hooves for a while," Helen says, a trifle sadly.

"What do you mean?" I ask her.

"Dust has recommended, and frankly I agree, that the kids and I go visit her parents in Texas for a while. We're worried about what the government presence here might mean for us."

I take Helen's hand in mine, rubbing my thumb lightly along her knuckles, "I'll hate to see you go, but I think Dust is right, too."

Shadow nods in agreement, puts a hoof on our joined hands, smiles at us, and leans in to kiss me firmly. Then she whispers in my ear, "Yum, I'm sorry I missed out on the action!"

I feel my cheeks burst into flame in response. Shadow's smile turns into a grin.

* * *

The sun is just setting down over the horizon when Lightning Dust comes bursting through the front door, calling out, "Irony, pack your bag! We've got one!"

"Calm down, Dust. What do you mean, 'we've got one'?" I ask her, making my way to my hooves.

"Actually, we've got two! We're heading to Colorado to rescue a couple of ponies who are being held, against their will. They managed to get word out through one of those pony websites that Soarin has been watching," she replies, stamping her hooves in impatience. "We need to hurry!"

"Okay. Let's take Trixie with us, too. She'll be a big help," I say over my shoulder, as I trot off to pack and bid Moon Shadow goodbye.

* * *

"Why do we have to drive the whole way?" Dust whines at me.

I turn from the trunk of my car, and give her a look, "Because, in case you haven't noticed, I'm an earth pony. I can't fly," I point over to Trixie, who has just hopped into the backseat, "and neither can she."

Dust's ears drop, "Okay, I guess that makes sense." Her head lifts, and I see a glint in her eye, "Shotgun!" She dives through the open window, landing perfectly in the passenger seat.

As I'm about to climb in behind the wheel, Moon Shadow canters up next to me, raising her head, her lips parted slightly for a kiss. I lean down to press my lips softly against hers. As we part, she whispers, "Be safe, and good luck, my love."

I smile crookedly at her, "Always."

I slam the door, rev up the engine, and put her in gear. Soon we are tearing down the highway, at speed. Dust has told me the drive will be about ten hours. My goal is to shave some off that.

* * *

I have been fairly successful at cutting our time. I've managed to turn a ten hour trip into an eight hour one, though I can sense that Dust is getting restless. She really doesn't like being cooped up, especially for long periods of time.

It's so late that it's early, when we pull into Arvada, a suburb of Denver. We manage to locate the address where the ponies are purportedly being held, just as the sun is cresting the horizon. To our surprise, it's a suburban home at the top of a hill.

Dust turns to me, "A house? How are we going to pull this off?"

Opening the trunk and reaching in, I withdraw my mace. Shouldering it, I reply, "The same way I got Moon Shadow back: we're going to ask nicely."

Dust's grin matches my own. I swear I hear her say under her breath, "It's clobberin' time."

I don my armor, and walk up to the front door, while Dust and Trixie remain a little ways off in the yard, under the cover of Trixie's distraction spell. I rap the door firmly with my knuckles. Then I wait, with my hands clasped behind my back, like I'm nothing more than a door-to-door salesman. A minute goes by before I hear any movement behind the door.

The door opens, revealing a pudgy looking guy. He's about six foot, definitely not any more than that. Not exactly the hard-core criminal I was expecting... I think, before I grab hold of his neck, lifting him off the ground. I pull him out the door, and slam him against the brickwork surrounding the entryway. I shove my muzzle into his face, and growl, "I know you're keeping ponies here. Now, where are they?"

A grin crosses my face when I smell a sharp tang in the air, letting me know he's wet himself. I glance down to see it puddling on the ground. Lightning Dust and Trixie slip past us, and on inside the split-level home. Dust has asked that I wait outside as backup, just in case. I don't mind, as it lets me terrorize this piece of shit that thinks it's okay to hold Equestrians hostage.

Once his eyes start bulging, and his lips turn blue, I set the scumbag down. He can't maintain his feet; he falls to his ass, with a splat, in the puddle. I pull my mace from my belt, take a fierce swing, and bury the head in the masonry next to his head, spraying his face, and neck, with red chips.

He wraps his arms around his head, begins rocking back and forth, and whimpers, "Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me." Over, and over.

Wow... this guy is even more of a weakling than I first thought. How did he ever get caught up in this? I shake my head in disbelief.

I hear a door slam into a wall, and Dust yell, "You get off that pony!" Followed by a ruckus. I figure that's my cue, so I grab my prisoner, and charge down the stairs into the day-light basement. What I see down there appalls me. Really, it's a simple setup, but in its simplicity, it's disgusting. There are a couple of large cages, and a pair of mattresses thrown on the ground. There's a pony in one of the cages, and one lying on a mattress. Dust is between that pony and a naked man. I am just in time to see her get one last kick into his groin, before Trixie puts a hoof to her shoulder, stopping her rampage.

Seeing that Dust is done destroying the rapist's manhood, I throw the other fool down next to him. I turn to Dust, and simply nod when she tells me to bust open the cage. I raise the mace, and bring it down on the lock. The lock sheers off, showing its poor quality in the ease with which it is dispatched. I carefully lift the pony out of the cage. Her body is wracked with tremors as I set her down next to Trixie. Her pegasus compatriot has her hooves wrapped around Dust, and is thanking her for all she's worth.

Dust hugs her back, and asks, "How old are you?"

"I just turned 25," the pony responds, but Dust shakes her head.

"No, how old were you before you were taken by Discord?"

"Maybe 18... I'm not sure..." she answers, hesitantly.

Dust whirls on the rapist, murder in her eyes, "You bastard! You were raping a fucking teenager!"

Before Trixie or I can step in, the other human decides to show just how stupid he really is, by speaking, "Hey, I paid good money for her!"

I can't quite place the look on Dust's face, but it isn't good. She turns back to the rapist, and asks, in a quiet voice, "And you paid this scum, to have her?"

The client nods slowly, tears dripping down his face, his body trembling in fear. Dust turns her attention back to the would-be pimp, "Where did you buy them?"

He hides behind his hands, but doesn't say anything.

"Irony."

Knowing what Dust is looking for, I calmly take a step forward, smashing my mace into the floor next to his feet. He screams, pulling his feet away, "I can't tell you! They were some seriously bad dudes!"

She shoves her muzzle right up under his nose, "Do you really think we'll leave you in any better condition than they would?"

He looks at her, then over at me. To emphasize Dust's words, I begin tapping the mace into my hand, like you would a baseball bat. He swallows, and pales visibly.

"You'd better tell me what I want to know, or my friend here will crater any body part I point to," she utters in a dangerous tone.

"I can't. They'll kill me!"

"Then you leave me no choice, it'll have to be your head," she lifts her arm to point her hoof.

"You'd kill me? You ponies are supposed to be all about friendship and shit, you wouldn't kill!"

Dust's wings spread in anger, "I spent 35 years as a human, your death means nothing to me!" Though, I can see in her face that the thought actually does bother her. She continues, "Maybe I should show you how serious I am by taking care of your client here..."

Both men, trembling in fear, claw at each other in their attempts to get away. I raise my mace, in preparation of crushing one of them, when the pimp calls out, "Wait! I'll tell you what you want to know!"

Words continue to pour from his crumpled face. He goes on and on about buying them from some cartel out of Seattle four days ago. About how they were some 'heavy dudes' and he was so dead... if it wasn't for the fact that he's trafficking in pony flesh, I could almost feel sorry for him, he is so frightened.

Dust lets him go on in that vein for several moments, before finally cutting him off with a look. Then she gives him some very good eye-contact, and states, "We were never here. If I catch even a hint of another pony being here, we will be back. If we come back, it will be much less pleasant for you. Do you understand?"

The pathetic whore-monger nods his head so fast, I'm afraid he's going to break his neck.

Dust turns to Trixie, "Trixie, if you please..."

Trixie's grin spreads frighteningly across her muzzle, "It will be The Great and Powerful Trixie's distinct pleasure!" Her horn glows brightly, an aura spreading to everything in the room that is made of metal. In a flash, all of it disappears, save for what we brought with us. The cages, handcuffs, everything metal is simply gone.

Impressive... I shiver at the show of power. Even I'm not immune to unicorn magic.

My nostrils flare. I can smell the distinct odor of fecal matter. I guess they were impressed, too.

We quickly vacate the premises, ignoring the looks of the few humans who have been drawn by the noise.

* * *

Once we have a few miles behind us, and I can be sure we're not being followed, I suggest we get something for everypony to eat.

Dust nods, "Yeah, let's hit a drive-thru."

Trixie sticks her head up from the backseat, "Please, can't we stop somewhere to eat? Trixie is tired of driving!" She points a hoof toward a dilapidated looking Denny's just off the road, "How about there?"

"Isn't that a bit conspicuous, for a group of ponies?" I ask.

Trixie shrugs, "Are we hiding?"

Dust shakes her head, "Nope, at least I'm not. You guys?"

I shrug my shoulders, as do our guests. It seems they're just as undecided about being seen as I am, though they do look a bit trepidatious.

"Denny's it is. Driver, please change our destination," Dust smirks at me.

I lift an eyebrow at her, but smile, "As you wish." Dust colors slightly.

In no time at all, we are pulled into a parking space, and entering the shabby diner. I'm surprised with the indifference which we are greeted with. The staff seem to hardly even notice our presence, as we're seated. A waitress shows up to take our drink order. She hardly bats an eye at four equines, or the odd humanoid, being seated in her section.

I'm unable to resist, "Don't you find us to be an odd group?"

"Honey, last week I had Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, and the Supremes in here. You guys hardly rate a 2.3 on my weird-shit-o-meter. What can I get you?" she answers, clearly not getting paid enough to delve into her patrons' idiosyncrasies. We all order water, Dust also asks for coffee.

It doesn't take any of us long to order, though I have to admit it is hard for me not to follow Dust's lead, and order a lumberjack slam. I decide on an order of pancakes, and a fruit bowl. Everyone else orders similarly, even the new pegasus.

Once our waitress has left, the table falls into silence for several moments. Trixie finally speaks up, placing a hoof against her chest, she introduces herself, "I, as I'm sure you all know, am The Great and Powerful Trrrixie!" She waves a hoof at Dust and I in turn, "And these are Lightning Dust, and Irony. Who might you two be?"

The pegasus and earth pony look at each other in confusion for a moment, before the pegasus tentatively answers, "I'm Winter Storm, and this is Summer Breeze. I'm sorry, but I have no idea who any of you are, or what the hell is going on."

Summer Breeze nods, "I don't know any of you, either. Are we really supposed to know who you are?"

Trixie sputters for a moment, "You seriously don't know who I am?"

I put a hand on her withers, "Trixie, dear, I don't think they were fans of the show."

"But-but-but... that's just wrong! Everypony should know who The Great and Powerful Trixie is!" her joke is lost on the newcomers, though Dust and I both chuckle.

Now, it's evidently my turn to be enlightening, "Do either of you remember a few years back, there was a cartoon for little girls, called My Little Pony? Maybe you remember hearing about it having a bunch of grown male fans? Called bronies?"

Winter Storm nods, and Summer Breeze exclaims, "You mean all those weirdos? What about them?"

I give the earth pony a stern look, "Hey, I was one of those 'weirdos' as you call us, and so was my brother."

"Sorry..." she mutters, lowering her eyes to stare at the table.

"The point my friend here is trying to make," Dust continues for me, "is that we have all turned into ponies from that show." Trixie clears her throat, Dust continues, "Well, not everypony is actually in the show, though Trixie and I were featured a couple of times..."

Dust trails off at a glare from me, I pick up the thread, "What we're trying to say, is that Equestria, the world of that Television show, is real. That's where we're all from. Do you remember a weird creature banishing you?" They both nod, looking a bit sad as they do. "That was Discord. He sent us all here. Before you tell me that this is all hard to believe, remember that we are all Talking. Fucking. Ponies. This is for real."

We all go quiet, as our meals arrive. Once we are alone again, Dust, Trixie and I all dig in. Winter Storm and Summer Breeze just stare at their plates. Finally, Storm speaks, "If this is all real, then what are we supposed to do? It's all so confusing!"

Dust smiles at them, and answers, "That's what we're here for. We have a whole farm set up so that we can get our hooves under us, and figure out what we're going to do. You're both welcome to stay there, for as long as you like."

Both of the ponies stare at Dust, then they both break out crying at the same time. Their heads begin bobbing in joy.

"So, I take it you'd like to come with us?" Dust asks.

"Oh yes, very much so! Thank you so much!"

The rest of our meal is spent describing the farm, and all the hard work that Dust has put into it. Soon enough, we're back on the road.